November 15, 2013

TO THE CAMPUS COMMUNITY

Dear Colleagues and Students:

Our UC Santa Barbara family is tremendously saddened by the devastating losses inflicted by the recent typhoon in the Philippines. Our hearts go out to all those affected by this tragedy, including those in our own community with family members, friends, and colleagues living on the islands of the Philippines.

We will continue to monitor the situation closely, but at this time there have been no reports of injured students, faculty, or staff from our campus.

If you have been affected by this tragedy, directly or indirectly, or perhaps just need someone to talk to about these events, our campus has counseling services and other resources available to you. Please do not hesitate to e-mail me at henry.yang@ucsb.edu if you have questions about where to seek information or assistance, or if you have any ideas or suggestions for how our university can offer our help. In my role as the Chairman of the Association of Pacific Rim Universities, I have written to the president of the University of the Philippines to offer assistance from the 42 member universities of APRU, including six UC campuses.

Numerous charities are accepting donations to aid in the international relief effort, including Santa Barbara-based Direct Relief International (www.directrelief.org), the Red Cross (www.redcross.org), United Way (www.unitedway.org/philippines), and other agencies.

Yesterday our campus radio station, KCSB-FM, donated half of the day’s proceeds from their annual fund drive to assist with Typhoon Haiyan relief efforts, and earlier this week our Associated Students Senate passed a resolution to create a relief fund for survivors of the typhoon (http://bit.ly/UCSBHaiyanRelief). Next Monday, November 18, our student organization Kapatirang Pilipino, or “Pilipino Brotherhood/Sisterhood,” will be hosting a Benefit Open Mic Night at the MultiCultural Center Theater to raise additional funds to donate. Across the campus, our students and colleagues have reached out in a multitude of ways to assist those in need. I am humbled and grateful to be reminded of what a caring community we share.

Sincerely,

Henry T. Yang
Chancellor